Last night someone on LTHForum broke the bad news that Lincoln Square's The Cheese Stands Alone is closing this weekend. Today TCSA cheesemonger Matt Parker confirms it, telling me that after a busy summer, the last six months have been deadly slow, and the lease is up.

"The Cheese Stands alone--if it is to go on--cannot go on at this space," he says.

TCSA was there at the beginning of Lincoln Square's restaurant renaissance, and despite its awkward location was the model for a great neighborhood cheese shop--lots of variety, cheeses cut to order and available for tasting by a dedicated cheese lover. Every neighborhood deserves one like it. Parker dangled some hope that he might return, saying he's been looking for a new space for the last half year, but has yet to find something appropriate. "I"m gonna look for a job and look for a space, and whichever one seems to be more promising I'm gonna probably have to go with."

For all you cheese vultures out there, he's going to see how much inventory he can unload by Sunday, and if there's enough left over he may open Monday for an at-cost-or-lower clearance.

And he promises to let us know where he ends up working--"probably in beer or cheese"--if he can't find a new spot.